Candy Mafia Book Blog Tour

Synopsis:

In a city where candy is a crime and sugar is scandalous, Nelle Faulker is a 12-year-old private detective looking for her next client.

When notorious candy gangster Eddie de Menthe asks for her help to find a missing teddy bear, Nelle Faulkner is on the case. But as soon as the teddy turns up, Eddie himself goes missing! As a seemingly innocent investigation unravels into something more sinister, Nelle and her friends quickly find themselves swept up in a shady underworld of sweets smugglers, back alley deals, and storefront firebombs.

If Nelle has any hope of tracking down her missing client, first she'll have to unmask the true faces behind the smuggling ring. Can Nelle and her friends find a way to take the cake? Or will they come to a sticky end...?

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory meets Bugsy Malone in this page-turning mystery from World Fantasy Award-winning author Lavie Tidhar. With moody spot illustrations by Daniel Duncan, readers will be sucked into the action-packed narrative as Nell pulls the curtain back on the black market candy rings.

Review:

A very well-told detective story for middle grade readers that will definitely keep them on their toes. I have so many readers who are constantly wanting adventure and mystery solving, but again not always intrigued by a "murder mystery" - and this is definitely the type of mystery story that my students are going to dive after. EVEN BETTER - it comes with illustrations. A lot of teachers are always looking for titles that will bridge the gap of constantly reading Dog Man, then moving to Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and they struggle to bring in more literature with the same design concept - The Candy Mafia is exactly what I would recommend next to readers. It has the adventure, the humor, and it's relatable. As a kid, I remember constantly playing detective, or being a private investigator and using my imagination to make up "cases" in our neighborhood, and following Nelle through her investigation took me back to those days big time.

Literary elements to discuss: vocabulary, tone, plot layout, theme, character development.

I have added here where you can access the teacher's discussion guide if you choose to do this a read aloud or book club.

Discussion Guide